Grand Theft Auto 6 is just hours away, and players all over the world are no doubt itching to cause all sorts of mayhem in Vice City. After all, stealing cars, picking fights, and generally being a menace are practically the fun of the series. However, Chinese streamers looking to showcase GTA 6 might have to forget about all that. A bizarre set of alleged streaming rules could turn Rockstar Games‘s crime simulator into a peaceful sightseeing-and-driving simulator instead.
According to Chinese outlet ITHome, as reported by Yahoo Gaming Taiwan (via Google Translate), a document titled ‘GTA 6 Streaming Compliance Guidelines’ has been circulating on Chinese social media. It claimed to have come straight from Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, and was hosted on ByteDance’s site. However, access to the document was disabled after the news broke.
The restrictions listed are quite… something. Chinese GTA 6 streamers are reportedly prohibited from carjacking, assaulting pedestrians, and attacking police officers. Or the most heinous crime of all: using emojis. Characters should also avoid wearing revealing outfits, while violent scenes must be skipped or concealed using black screens. Even blood apparently needs to be changed from red to other colors like gray or green.
Considering that the whole GTA series revolves around criminals doing criminal things, following these rules could make progressing through the story practically implausible. This might also remind some gamers of Peacekeeper Elite, PUBG Mobile‘s controversial Chinese version, which infamously replaced deaths with defeated characters waving goodbye.
Seeing those alleged restrictions, Taiwanese netizens quickly joked that it turned GTA 6 into a ‘sightseeing, moral and ethical simulator.’ Some believe that playing as a law-abiding citizen could be the game’s Hell difficulty mode. But others saw a positive in this, pointing out that GTA 5 was completely banned from broadcast, so being able to stream the sequel is seen as an ‘improvement.’
Still, rumors that Douyin has somehow secured exclusive GTA 6 streaming rights in China haven’t been confirmed. Rockstar has opened a verified Douyin account and shared promotional posts, but the game itself hasn’t received an official release license in mainland China yet.
If causing chaos is off the table, thankfully, GTA 6 seems to have plenty of other side activities to keep streamers busy. From boat and dirt bike races to parachute jumping and more, there’s still plenty to do all over Leonida. At least, assuming those activities don’t somehow break the rules too.
